Of Glasses and the Moon
by Kagami Kyoji
Summary: A fic on two ladies on different sides of the war between SS and Aizen. Spoilers for "Turn Back the Pendulum" manga chapters. Update: Chapter 2 up
1. Chapter 1

It was night, and Ise Nanao looked up from her desk. Where did all the time go, she thought, as she pushed up her spectacles. Then again, she had been busy with paperwork, even more so now, with every taicho out of Seireitei. As a fuku, she had been busy, together with the other fuku who were left behind.

Nanao rose from her desk, and made her way to the courtyard. The crescent moon beamed down on her. Such a sight, she thought. If her taicho was around, he would most probably be drinking sake and admiring the scene, maybe alongside his best friend. Nanao could never understand how Ukitake-taicho could stand her taicho's outrageous ways, or for that matter, how SHE coped with him...Nanao's mind wandered to another friend. A friend whom she had not seen for a hundred years, not since that night, where the moon was as bright as the one which she was looking at now.

Yadomaru-fuku-taicho...Truth be told, Nanao seldom thought of her since her disappearance. Officially, Yadomaru had been branded a traitor for acquiring hollow powers. But, Nanao never believed a word of it. She didn't believe it back when she was still a little girl, and she didn't believe it now. Her taicho apparently agreed with that. Nanao thought that Ukitake-taicho's decision not to find a replacement for Shiba Kaien after his death was influenced by her taicho's own not to find a replacement for Yadomaru... until Nanao became of age to "take over", as Shunsui himself put it.

Nanao looked at herself. Unconsciously, she had modeled herself after Yadomaru, right down to the glasses and her rough handling of her taicho, although she must admit that she had only heard of the second part from gossip among the other members of the division. To Nanao, Yadomaru was like a gentle onesan; her bookreading sessions was something Nanao always looked forward to as a kid. Yadomaru's bright smile at the beginning and end of each session remained in her memories.

Ise Nanao sighed as she took in the moonlight.

"Fuku-taicho, are you still well?"

Over at Karakura Town...

Yadomaru Lisa was in the midst of another josei manga. She had began the volume earlier in the day. However, even by her high standards, the volume proved to be so addictive that she couldn't stop even for a second. Even Hirako Shinji gave up trying to get her to join the rest for dinner. Since war was coming, Shinji decided to have her on the graveyard shift for sentry duty, figuring that she couldn't sleep anyway.

The vizard knew that the time had come. They sensed the sleeping spell which was cast on the town (and which they resisted successfully). They could also sense the reiatsu building up in the surroundings. Lisa knew that she was back in Soul Society. However, the vizard wouldn't show themselves, at least not yet.

Even as the vizard hid their reiatsu, Lisa detected many familiar traces far away. She could only hope that given the situation, her former taicho would not have noticed her reiatsu. Then again, he was never fazed by anything, thought Lisa. She looked up at the sky. Despite being a crescent moon, it was still bright enough for her to read using its light. She couldn't help but remember a little girl, a girl whom she didn't get the chance to say goodbye...

Lisa remembered the very first time she set eyes upon Ise Nanao. Unusual for her age, the little girl was already a full member of the division. Also, her thick glasses seemed too big for her face. But, Lisa saw potential in the young one. She had doubts about Nanao's skills with the blade, but when it comes to spells, the girl should be all right, she thought. With some luck, she might become a fuku herself...

Realising what she was thinking of, Lisa laughed at herself. Why were her thoughts on someone who might have already forgotten about her? Her life as the Eighth Division's fuku-taicho was now a distant memory, further dimmed by the injustice she and her companions suffered. Yet, somehow, she had faith in Shunsui, as ridiculous as that may sound. After all, unlike his own sensei, the taicho saw that sometimes, rules can be bent. She remembered his many advances, and wondered if Nanao could handle him as well as she did. To be fair to Shunsui, the man never had an ill word for anyone, and his advice could be counted on, at least most of the time.

As for Nanao, she should have blossomed into a beautiful lady, thought Lisa. She looked down at the manga volume in her hand. Back then, she would never even think of reading such stuff to the young girl. The other vizards knew very well that even in exile, she still stayed up for a night every month to read something serious. She hoped that her taicho had taken good care of Nanao. Even though they would almost certainly be enemies if they meet again, Lisa still wanted to see for herself how the little girl had turned out. She took off her glasses, and looked up into the night sky.

"Nanao-chan, are you well?"

Afterthoughts

-Please RnR!


	2. Chapter 2

Despite her fatigue, and being deep in thought, Nanao felt that someone was approaching. She wasn't worried, for she knew who exactly it was. She waited for the visitor to speak.

"A...ano, Ise-san?" The frail voice was timid, as if its owner was afraid of angering Nanao.

"Hinamori, what brings you here? You should be resting." The young girl continued to look down at the floor. Nanao knew that while Hinamori had fully recovered physically, her mind was still in a fragile state.

"Is Aizen-taicho nearby?" Although Nanao was caught off-guard by the question, she quickly recovered. The buildup of reiatsu was unmistakable: the traitors are in Soul Society, at the empty town where the rest of the available taicho are gathered.

"He may be nearby, Hinamori. But, you don't have to worry. The rest of the taicho..."

"I don't want him to die," cried Hinamori. Nanao walked up to the girl, and gently patted her head.

"I'm sure that won't happen," said the lady firmly. Hinamori brightened up upon hearing that. Nanao had a thin smile. She couldn't bear to let the young girl know what she was thinking: that Aizen should be left alive to stand trial for his crimes.

"Come, I'll walk you back to the Fifth Division."

Over at Karakura Town...

"Lisa."

The lady looked up from her manga. It was Shinji. Beside him, was Kensei. The rest of the gang were still asleep.

"What is it?"

"I want you and Kensei to find your way to Seireitei."

Lisa's reaction, was to raise her eyebrows.

"The rest of us, will be heading to where the show is."

"What makes you think that I don't want a piece of.." Shinji raised his hand.

"Let's not fool ourselves, Lisa. There is someone in Seireitei whom you want to see."

"Then, what is he going to do," asked Lisa, as she cocked her thumb at Kensei.

"As a former taicho, he's better versed in the art of 'diplomacy'," said Shinji, flashing his usual crafty grin. Kensei couldn't help but grin as well. Lisa thought for a moment, and closed the manga volume, but not before marking the location where she stopped.

"Mess up the bookmark, and I'll have your head," warned Lisa, as she handed the volume to Shinji. The grin on his face grew even wider...

Back at Seireitei...

Hisagi Shuhei and Kira Izuru were patrolling the streets. After all the paperwork and arrangements, both men simply had enough. Since they couldn't afford to get drunk, the next best thing was to go for a walk. However, unlike any other day, tonight was going to be the calm before the storm. Neither spoke for some time, until...

"So, it has began."

Kira nodded his agreement. Both men could sense the reiatsu of their taicho in the distance.

"Kira, how is Hinamori?"

"She was resting, at least when I last left her."

"It must be hard on her, and on you," mused Hisagi. Kira lowered his head.

Hisagi was about to carry on, when two shinigami came running towards them.

"Hi...Hisagi fuku-taicho..." began one of them, as the duo struggled to catch their breath.

"What is it?"

"...There are two intruders at the gates!" The two fuku couldn't believe their ears.

"Who are they," demanded Kira.

"They refuse to say who they are. One of them demanded that a taicho step outside to speak with them."

"Wait a minute. That means..." said a shocked Hisagi.

"They've already breached the gates. For unknown reasons, they aren't entering the city"  
Kira cursed under his breath.

"Kira, go find Ise-san. Tell her to come to the gates as soon as possible." Hisagi may look calm, but deep within, he knew that he had no idea how to handle this crisis.

Outside the gates...

Kensei and Lisa looked around them. They must have knocked out an entire division of shinigami between them. Those that were still standing, stared at them as if they were freaks.

"Looks like the academy no longer trains them like it used to," mused Kensei.

"Someone of more substance is coming," warned Lisa. When the approaching group came to a halt before them, Hisagi couldn't believe his eyes.

"Kensei, do you know him? That guy looked as if he knows you," noted Lisa. The former taicho took a harder look at the man.

"That tattoo..." For Hisagi, he was pretty sure that he had seen this man somewhere before. But where, and what did he do?

"Are you a taicho," demanded Kensei.

"Fuku-taicho of the Ninth Division, Hisagi Shuhei." Hisagi tried hard not to show his fear.

"Hisagi Shuhei..." It finally dawned upon Kensei who this man was.

"That's a good, strong name." The words hit Hisagi like a ton of bricks.

"...Are you... the former taicho of the Ninth Division, Muguruma Kensei?" Ever since that night, Hisagi never gave up trying to find out more about his saviour. Yet, all he could ever dig up, was the name and the division he belonged to, and nothing else.

"It's been a while, young man," said Kensei, as he lifted his shirt. Hisagi needed no further convincing.

"Kensei, he is..." asked Lisa.

"A young kid whom I saved that night, and I think we have more company." After instructing Kira to escort Hinamori the rest of the way (as if he needed the reminder), Nanao came straight to the gates. As she caught her breath, her eyes rested upon the female intruder. Both ladies took off their spectacles and rubbed their eyes, before continuing to stare at each other.

"Who are you," asked Kensei. Even he noted how much the newcomer resembled Lisa.

"Fuku-taicho of the Eighth Division, Ise Nanao." Everyone present detected the sense of pride in her voice.

"Lisa, you know her, don't you?"

"Nanao-chan, I think I still owe you a story." The younger lady fought hard to keep back her tears.

For both sides, tonight was going to be a long night.

Afterthoughts

- The usual RnR request.


End file.
